Animal trap



Aug. 17, 1948.v G. s. WARNER ANIMAL TRA? Filed Jan. l, 1945 lll El?. l

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Patented Aug. 17 1948 yAIIHVIAL TRAP Gilbert S. Warner, Palma Sola,Fla., assigner to William Hegener, Sarasota, Fla.

Application January .1, 1945, SerialNO. 570,8749

This invention relates to box-traps intended to capture the animalsalive, Without injury, Vprei?- erably singly, for the purpose ofpathological research, examination of the captives -for evidence ofdisease, especially `of rare and unusual infectious diseases; in whichscientic'pursuit various desiderata in connection with the animals :andthe trapping thereof Vhave vbecome 'known :from experience and have beengivenfullconsideration in the making of this invention.Y

The principal objects of my invention are, rst, to provide an animaltrap of the indicatedklnd, which will not only more frequently andsurely effect capture without injury, but v,one in which the animalsbehavior habtsnare decisively met in certain necessary Ways, e'. g1,lmaking the trap as much as possible a customary Woods object,-asexpected and undifferentiated fromthe animals habitat, since largely`the animalscaught and examined are wild, and, Where domestic or houserodents, commonly Arange in and about wooden structures; and it isyimportant that the trap, oifering the lure` of bait, be 4ihwharmonyWith the environment factors experientially associated with food andfeeding in the animalsfshort but tense life of suspicion, distrust vandtimidity linked with rapacity. Second, to provide'iaftrap wherein thebait is not presented upon'apieceeof Y mechanism appertaining to thetrap, ito spring `it instantly Whatever the intruder, but iis Vsofarranged'and offered, and'thetrap so set, that alien undesired animalsmay,fait'er exterior inspection, enter, inspect'the bait .from inside,reven tbe" per-V mitted to lwalk out with some 'ofv it, and leavefreely. Third, a'trap which-maybe used, .and .adjusted, to trapananimalpf the .type Sandrsize desired to capture, and fail to be Asprung'by others; one whereby adjustment may adapt the trap at one moment toone type 'and size 'with unlikelihood of springing by others,yettheisame trap mayllater be employed -to capturean'animalV of a largeror smaller type, asY desired. Fourth, to provide a trap of the utmostsimplicity and efficiency of -foolproof'mechani'smg Withoutspring-actuated partsfspring doors, or various movable pieces4 whichrender itv dicultto s'etthe trap with any certainty that itA will'remain set after leaving it, While the slight jar of 'a'passing animalwillspring it. Fifth, lto provide atrap Which may eitherbe set hardoreasy`,1may require, when set, quite a'vveight Vorzpullorf-shove of avigorous animal .to'releaseitsA door, orcontrarily Vrequire va slighttouch, "which Yis'usually termed a trigger touch1'of:a' smalllightoriweak animal, according yto the Wish oflthetrapper f and the waythe trap is intended to act in connection with smaller and largerentrants lured by the bait. Sixth, atrap of this character which, besidethe box and door, will comprise simply and .solely one unitary workingpart, despite its aforesaid adjustability. Seventh, one which can be setby hand of the trapper, -even adjusted to hard or easy tripping -bythatone hand. y

With the indicated objects in View, and other subordinate objects WhichWill hereinafter appear, -my invention consists in a box trap such as'hereinafter'describedand shown, and in such novel features andconstruction as particularly carry outfthe scheme and ypurposes of theinvention las thus far set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, `forming part ofthis specification, inAwhich like letters of reference designate like parts in .theseveralviews:

Figure 1 is a vertical central `longitudinal sectionof atrapembodying'my invention, open for ingress vof an animal and set fortrapping-asmall animal, or either a small ora large one, not beingrestricted, in vthis aposition, to any special 'type Vor size ofspecimen desired, and the door being held open Ahy contact with thenailor pin thereon resting upon-the-crossbar of the yoke forming `part ofthe-operating mechanism.

Figure2 .is 'a sectional plan view of the same, takenfupon the line2-2-of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, of the sametrap setfor-capturing a larger type' or size of animal where it isdesired andplanned to avoid as vfar as lpossible the springing of the trap byundesired. smaller'animals, and eshowingl the ldoor held'openinsetposition by direct contact of the lower-edge of thevdoor `upon thecrossbar of the yoke, the Vrear-end of 'the trap -being cut away. Thealtered angle of the horizontal portion of the operatingrmechanism ispurposeful, and' functional, as will later be explained. In all thefigures, theV wire frame-vof the operating mechanism is shown heavier:in proportion Ythan it need be.

LInfthevpractice of my invention I construct a box trap Yinv much theusual form and'manner comprisingthe-rectangular box I, of hard wood,withfoursolid walls including itwosides, top or roof, bottom or floor,vfill up the'rear-end of the box withfa wirev screen-2, xed permanentlyin place; and leaveithe front end' 4completely Vopen except` :for twoguides 3, preferably square ,U- angled and'forrned of sheet 'metal ,such`'as .galvanizedlron. In these V.guidesV I v.mount .a vsolid door r`4,neatly fitting, thick enough ttov rhave adequatevre'ight, anditowithstand any attempt'of the -animal to escape after capture, or to eataway any of it; of course it should be flat and straight, with an evenlower edge, and preferably a trifle longer or higher than the height ofthe box, being raised when desired, by seizing the upper edge. Near thelower edge I mount in the inner face of this door a pin or common nail5, placed a material distance above said edge, and also located tostrike the roof when the door-is raised too high, so as to prevent thedoor from being removed. Some of these details may be varied, but it isquite desirable that they be built as stated, or substantially so.

Next, the lever-mechanism consists of a frame il, made in one piece fromselected wire which will be stili and stout as shown in the drawings,

but pliable without breaking or cracking uponY being bent and rebentback into its previous condition. This wire frame is initially shaped inthe v unique form shown by first bending the central portion of a pieceof wire into a U-shaped yoke of which the crossbar il forms the upperpart of the frame when in position, and lies upon two side members e,which extend downwardly and outwardly in a curved direction to a pointwhere the wire of the frame is turned upon itself at each side to formloops l, the wire making exactly a complete circle, and thence ranges inan approximately 90 angle from the side-members 9 rearwardly in a nearlyhorizontal position, at each side of the trap body or each end of thewire, to form longitudinal sidebars l l. The ends of the wire are thenturned at an angle to approach each other, overlap, and form the end barl2, which also unites the rear portion of the yoke of the frame. Throughthe loops lll are driven nails i3, which serve as pivots for the frame,and said nails may be replaced by screws or any other form of pivot.Across the rear end of the wire frame G is xed a platform lli, formed byextending wires across said frame at the rear, preferably by afxing apiece of wire netting of coarse mesh to the sidebars il and to theendbar Hl.

In the normally unset position, indicated by dotted lines in Figure l,with the rear end of the frame resting upon the floor of the trap, andthe yoke 'i in the air, while in the set position the said platform israised and the yoke `l' close to the door il. It will be observed that Iform the two side members il curved upwardly and forwardly from theloops lil and the rear of the pivots I3 in a segmental curve, and thatthe width of the yoke 'i is sumcient to cause the loops of the frame tolie almost but not quite in frictional Contact with the sidewalls of thetrap, there being left just such space between said loops and walls asto make them operate easily and freely; but if it is desired to increaseor decrease the play of the loops, the yoke may be stretched or broughtshorter with the pressure of the hand to adjust this. The side members 9I may make of any length desired, higher than illustrated in Figures 1and 3, up to the limit of just under the height of the roof of the trap.

The length of the sidebars il may be shorter or longer than shown, butthey should in all or usual cases be made of only such length as toleave a substantial space between the endbar l2 and the screen wire 2 inthe rear wall, since contrary to previous constructions and methods, I.plan to keep the bait removed from the platform or wire mesh ill, forpurposes essential for all and not only a part of the objects andfunctions of my newly invented trap, as outlined in the preamble hereofand more fully set forth hereinafter. As shown, I make the wire frame inthe trap depicted, approximately two thirds of the length of the trapbetween the front opening at one end and the wire screen 2 at the other,though no ratio is necessary to be observed, and the space left for baitat rear may be varied therefrom.

When it is desired to capture an animal of large type or size, a simplechange in the trap may be made by the user, without tools, to alter theconditions presented by the trap in respect to both the larger animalsought, and the smaller animals aimed to be avoided, at least notcaptured or permitted to spring the trap. To do this, the sidebars iland endbar are manually grasped by the trapper, and the rear end of thewire frame bent upwardly, raising the platform lli Vas well as saidsidebars li and endbar l2. It will be seen from Figure 3 that thissomewhat changes the angle of the rear portion of the sidebars ilrelatively to the front bars 9 of the yoke l, increasing the acutenessof said angle slightly or much, depending upon the extent of bending,and in the set position shown in full lines in the drawing the platformand the sidebars and endbar are so elevated above the floor of the trapthat a small animal may enter the trap, run under the platform andexamine the bait, without coming in contact therewith and springing thetrap.

It is my custom to make the guides 3 in which the door slides, higherthan the roof of the trap to support the door better in raised position,and the door may be made high enough to extend above said roof whendropped to the floor, or it may be made just adequately high to eifectcomplete closure. The wooden material of the trap is made smooth, andits walls tted neatly, but no attempt should be made to give any unusualinish or gleam to it, the complete trap should be as simple and plain aspossible, looking like any other portion of the environment, though itstop may be marked with distinctive marks visible to show the trapperwhere he left his traps, or where they have been accidentally removedto.

The operation of my trap will be manifest from the foregoing descriptiontaken in connection with the drawings. The trap having been made of asize adapted to the type of animals sought, and to a fairly varied rangeof such animals, and since its desired to use it indiscriminately as tosize, age, weight of the captive made, the wire frame is manuallyadjusted, or is left adjusted as made and delivered, so that theplatform i4 will lie a little above the floor of the trap when thecrossbar 8 of the yoke 'l' is placed immediately under the lower edge ofthe door d, when said door is elevated above the height of said crossbarE. Should the platform i4 be deemed too low at the instant of contact ofcrossbar and door, the sidebars Il are slightly bent'upward. If saidplatform seems Ytoo high, it is lowered by reversely bending saidside-bars. If it is intended to set the trap with the door'restingflatly upon the crossbar S, and the trap is so adjusted, all thatremains is to place the bait in the trap, at the rear, in the spacebetween the platform l and the wire screen 2, carry1 the trap to theplacewhere it is to be left, and then set it by the simple expedientorprocess of raising `the door with one hand, holding it up with theback of the lingers of that hand, and simultaneously or sequentlydrawing the cross-bar 8 of the'yoke 7 with the tips of the iingers,under the lower edge of the door; which Y fits thereunder as shown inFigure 3, the s aidyoke beingU-shaped as stated, andthe cross-bar 8thereof forming the upper part of the frame, lying upon the two'side-arms which extend downwardly and outwardly in a curved directionto the loops l5. If it appears for any reason that the platform is not,when so set, lying at the right height, the door is held up by thebackof the said hand, and the fingers thereof used to bend the wire sidebars Il any way desired to suitthe trapper. Y is now correctly set. Ifhe wishes to set it more easyjhe can place the crossbar 8 a trifle moreto the rear edge of the door. 4, even to the hairtrigger, position thecrossbar just catching'the door edge. Andhe can also set thecrossbaronlthe pin orv nail 5, immediately under the projectingendoripoint thereof. Of course,if his work.` is daily routine, he willeither find his trap aty the best and most eiec-tive adjustment, or willat the outset adjust it to his own preferences, and leave it that wayuntil need arises for a change.

If he wishes to-set the trap hard, itv

If he is a householder or inexpert user of a trap,

he will find it quite'unnecessary to do anything but open the door, putin his bait, raise the door to the correct height, and set thecrossbarunder it or under the pin or nail E, as the mechanism is sosimple that anyone can set it with one hand as aforesaid, or with bothhands as other traps have been set in his experience or observation. Therange of setting hard or easy is not only considerable, but effectedwithout the use of complicated or delicate mechanisms, and it can be setso lightly on'the door edgeV or pin, that the least touch of a tinymouse will release `the door, Vit beingV noted that the length relationof the Yplatform lever portion, as embodied in the length` of side barIl, to that of the yoke is such thatv the'Y platform is many times asdistant from the pivot point lil as the yoke is, hence platform pressureneed only be faint there to, be eiective upon said yoke, and atVwlflatever'point ofthe-entire frame 6 the animal touches, at eitherside of the mechanism, his impulse is transmitted to the whole yokesomewhat evenly, owing to the fact that the entire mechanism is a singleunitary device equally balanced between both side walls, and solelypivoted close to the front of the trap as near to the door as thenecessary curve of the side members 9 of the yoke will allow. The pin ornail not only serves for setting of the trap, but also contacts the roofon the upper motion of the door, t prevent this door from coming out,and being lost or misplaced.

When it is desired to employ the trap to catch the individual type orsize of animal, and small alien unwanted animals abound nearby, it is amatter of a moment to solve this problem measurably to exclude thesesmaller ones from springing the trap, as they will do frequently andsuccessively, by the indicated method of bending the yokeframe of myoperating mechanism as Abefore dened, and as shown in Figure 3, raisingthe bars H and the platform so high that small animals entering willrunfunder the platform, and as the bait is not attached to the mechanismor its platform, but is freely accessible, the little intruder may helphimself to part of the bait, and run out with it. The habit of mostrodents is to carry off bait, not stay and chew it. Several trips may bemade this way by one or more animals, and the trap remain set for thelarger animal sought, who not only will disperse the small ones, but beattracted to the bait and encouraged to enter the trap by their presenceand immunity. In the use or thetrja'p forA this.I endeavored exeiasibn.tiene Wanted vsr'rrall'e'r animals, it ris* l-p'rfe'rabletol"Set thetrap ffhard, f with the yokel-lunder the middle of theidoor redg'easbeforede'scrbd. 'Thefbait being inthe rear-,rand not on thef-platfrm orthe platform, for. :j'oggle the mechanism, aridi the least 'touch Willspring it, 'as-Sand for the reasons above indicatedunless it 'haspurposely been set hard'to excludehisikind. 1

4Minor changes may 'offcour'sefbefmade within the spirit andv purviewtof, fny. 'inventionfas herein described and as 'setl forthsnthe'claims, though/I believe ity will' be found most"effectivefm`ade7ad usedas I. 'havedirected. mnorffeaturs'all have their function'and'usefulne'sm ffo'r example,set ting 'the pin or nai'lfi adequately.'above' lthef'l'ower edge. ofthe door,fa;llows settingy the crossbar@under the said edge intheiadjustmentsdescribed',

yet allows the crossbar to detach easily-without catching ontthefpin. 5,:whiletthpi'n' also ymust?not be too higlnor theJdoor/will betoolow'whenfs'et under the pin insteadoffunderi thedoon edge.. What Iclaimvasnewand desire tofsecu-re'by Letters Patent'ist v l l y f 1."A,boxLtrapforlcapturing.animalsalive,'coinL prising a box open attheffrontgagravity-door mounted vertically .l .to :slidably fciosez 'thesame,

'p anda/singleunitaryloperating mechanism formed of a wire "fi-amerv"piveted i `near the iront! of the box'in eaehlof thesidewallsthereon/hannes yoke#shaped` portieri 1 ext-endings `uj'giwardly fromeitherY siderof "the bomfand "open centrally"`to permit the-animali to'pass- Itrntu'eh :sai-d ytke-V shaped" portion, and a rear portion'om-posed'of side bars f integralwith 'the' yoke-:shaped portion andwith each other, and each projecting 'rearwardly at opposite sides ofthe box toward the rear wall Aof the trap, being spaced apart to leavethe floor of the box empty and uncovered between said side bars for thepassage of the animal upon .the floor, and meeting at the rear ends, anda platform xed upon and between the side bars, the said yoke portion ofthe frame having side members extending upwardly and forwardly from theside bars and formed with a crossbar between the side members integraltherewith, the said frame being pivoted at each side in axially alignedpivots behind the door and near the o-or of the trap, whereby animalpressure on the said platform will depress the same and pull back thecrossbar of the yoke, the said crossbar being adapted to be broughtunder the lower edge of the door to be held thereby, to be'released byeither alight ora heavy touch upon the platform according to the settingof said crossbar under said door.

2. A box trap for capturing animals alive, comprising a. box open at thefront, a door slidably mounted to close said front against egress of thecaptive, and an interior operating mechanism for Asetting said door openand for releasing it by animal pressure, -consisting of a wire framepivotally mounted in the box behind the door, which frame extendslaterally across the trap whereby it may be set under said door or partthereof. lto let said door rest thereon and depress the forward part ofthe frame, the said frame having integral substantially horizontalportions at each side, projecting .rearwardly to a point short of 'therear Wall of `the trap, a platform xed upon both of said side portions,and extending laterally across the central part of the trap at the rearwhereby as the frame at front is depressed by t'he weight of the doorthereupon,

Vthe platform is raised at the rear, the said wire frame being formedand adapted to be bent by the trapper to accommodate the vari-ous sizesof animals.

3. A box tra-p or capturing animals alive, comprisingV a box having itsopening or entrance at one end, a gravity ldoor slidably mountedthereat, a. single unitary operating mechanism consisting of Va wireframeoomprising an upwardly rising yoke having a orossbar across thesame adapted to be placed beneath the door, and embodying side memberseach pivoted to opposite walls of the box, and rearwardly projectingsidebars integrally formed with said yoke and commencing at the pivotalpoint of the side members, a-platform iXed to the sidebars, the rearends of said sidebars and the 'platform being located at a considerablygreater distance from the pivots than the front cross-bar, and the rearportion of the wire frame being formed and adapted to be bent andreshaped by the trapper to adjust the height of the platform above thefloor of the trap whereby -to permit smaller unwanted animals to run inand out of the trap under said platform without releasing and closingthe door.

4. A box trap for capturing animals alive, comprising a box open at thefront, a gravity opera-ted vertically slidable door mounted to closeegress from the box and provided with a pin projecting inside the trap,said pin being positioned above the lower edge of said door, and asingle unitary operating mechanism comprising a wire yoke-shaped framehaving two Vertical side members and an integral -crossbar between thesame which extends forwardly at the top to permit setting the trap byplacing said crossbar either under said door in contact with the forwardportion or the rear portion yof the lower edge thereof, or under saidpin, said pin .being located relative to the roof of the trap to contactsaid roof when the door is raised to prevent removal of said door, thewire frame being pivotally mounted J' ust behind said door and formedrearwardly with two side b-ars extending a considerably greater distancerearward from the pivot than the distance represented by the height .ofthe yoke portion crossbar, the rear portion of said frame being providedwith a fixed platform.

5. A box trap for capturing animals alive, comprising a box having anentrance, a slidably mounted door therefor, and a single unitaryoperating mechanism comprising an integral wire frame, yoke-shaped atthe front thereof, with two substantially parallel side membersextending upwardly from their lower ends to their upper ends, alaterally extending crossbar joining their upper ends and adapted to tunder the door, the said side members being curved segmentally to carrythe crossbar under said door when the trap is to be set, the lower endsof the side members having loops which are pivo'ted ea-ch to oppositesidewalls of the trap, the said wire frame back of these loops beingprojected rearwardly and substantially horizontally therefrom, formingtwo side members extending on each side of the trap out of contact withthe side walls thereof and meeting at ytheir rear ends, a platform fixedthereon between t-he said last named members at a substanti'al distancefrom the pivot points and at a distance substantially greater than thesaid pivot points are from the door yopening or the front crossbar ofthe yoke is from said pivots, whereby a substantial leverage is obtainedfrom slighft pressure upon the platform, the segmentally curved sidemembers being adapted to be bent byA the trapper to hold the crossb'arthereof in selective engagement with said door.

GILBERT S. WARNER.

Country Date switzerland May 5, 1913 Number

